I am often asked, “What is the advantage of hiring a design-build firm instead of just hiring a homebuilder?” Essentially, it comes down to having a fully-completed set of house plans and material selections before the actual construction begins—which saves lots of valuable time, rushing to make last-minute decisions, lots of stress, and a myriad of potential future mistakes. Having all decisions thoroughly considered and finalized before construction starts is imperative to the success, the timeline, and the bottom-line of a new construction project.
There was a time where basic floorplans could be developed from a sketch on the proverbial napkin, but those days are long gone for modern day professional builders and interior designers. Today, paying for a mistake because of not having a complete set of plans will probably be more expensive than the necessary plans would’ve cost to develop to begin with, not to mention the time lost as a result. Fram Oil once advertised,” Pay me now, or pay me later.” We’d all prefer to know the costs and the challenges up front, rather than at the back end.
If you’ve contacted our Design-Build firm to discuss building, chances are that you first spoke with my interior designer wife and business partner, Jana. Working together over the past 9 years has given us the time to constantly hone our design-build process and we have come to realize that our construction and design skills perfectly complement one another, making us the ideal design-build team for our clients. Jana and I both assist the clients with locating a lot, and with finding and customizing a suitable house plan to become our clients’ dream home (or we work with an architect of our client’s choice to produce house plans from scratch). As the builder, I develop the site plan, seek site plan approval from the proper municipality, and then we begin clearing and grading the lot and installing utilities (if necessary). During this time, Jana takes the plans and assists the client with designing all cabinet drawings, fireplace designs, window and door details, and any other critical interior architectural elements. She and the design team then select all of the interior materials for the client—such as tile, hardwood flooring, lighting fixtures, plumbing fixtures, paint, interior and exterior doors, cabinet hardware, door hardware and any additional interior details that you can imagine. Every detail is designed and considered prior to building.
Jana collaborates with me during the design process, asking any technical and structural building questions, such as which walls can be easily modified, whether or not they are structural, and where we would need to have structural ceiling beams, AC ducting, etc. Then, after the project is fully designed and approved by the client, it’s handed off to myself (the builder), the structural engineer, the mechanical engineer (Mechanical Engineers place the AC equipment, ducting, venting, hot water heaters and any other mechanical equipment) and the structural engineer. Once the plans are engineered, the plumbing and electrical trades are also involved in planning. It’s truly a team effort. Exploring the plans so thoroughly allows us to catch most potential issues or mistakes ahead of time. Therefore, we can work together to find solutions that are much more cost effective to solve “on paper” than solving them after the foundation is poured and the walls are framed. We also have a chance at this stage to discuss any potential cost-overruns and where we can trim the budget to save, by reselecting materials or by editing the plans—without sacrificing the integrity of the design.
As a young builder, when I was 28, the wise saying by Vernon Law truly resonated with me- “Experience is a hard teacher because she gives the test first, and the lesson afterward.” Fortunately, as a young contractor I was very open-minded to learning from others whenever I could. I feared making my own mistakes and looking foolish, so I made sure to learn from others’ mistakes or to look for better ways of doing things—which was definitely the cheaper alternative. In my early career in construction and also property management, I personally witnessed the difference between having a complete set of plans and not having them. It made an enormous amount of difference in the time (and money) to get a project through to completion. Construction projects taught me the importance of detailed drawings and technical specifications. Property management taught me the importance of detailed written scopes of work in the absence of detailed drawings. Both are critical in construction project management and in effectively managing subcontractors.
Avoiding mistakes is not the only way that a complete set of construction plans will save you money. A thorough set of detailed plans will also typically result in better pricing from your subcontractors. For example, without a detailed set of drawings, your subcontractors will have to “guess” about the specific details on your project. This means that they must price their work “up” to cover any future unknowns, according to what they think the builder or customer may want. They must balance covering their unknown costs with what they think will win them the job based on their opinion of what is expected or acceptable. Surprises later can lead to cost increases, unhappy subcontractors or an incomplete job and the potential need to work with a “replacement” subcontractor, in the best-case scenario. A worst-case scenario could mean concealed defective work by the subcontractor that will come back to haunt everyone at some point in the future. It’s simply not worth the risk of building without a completed set of detailed plans. Benjamin Franklin once said, “If you fail to plan, you are planning to fail.”
So, what plans should you reasonably expect from your Design-Build team? Simply put, your architect, landscape architect, homebuilder, engineers and interior designer should all collaborate to produce: the site plan, floorplans and detailed interior elevations, post construction drainage plans, an engineered foundation plan, a braced wall/framing plan, a floor truss plan, a rafter layout plan, an electrical plan, exterior elevation plans, a roofing plan, interior cabinet/millwork plans, and a landscaping plan, along with an assortment of schedules for lighting, plumbing, doors, windows, flooring, etc. The plans should also include plenty of details and written definitions/scopes of work and finishes. This list is not all inclusive as each custom project is unique and special. (i.e., swimming pools, fire features, sports courts. etc.)
Is there such a thing as too many plans? Maybe, but that depends on how much risk you are comfortable with, and sometimes expediency may lead you to think some plans aren’t necessary; But in our experience, they are always worth taking the time to create ahead of time. Hiring a Design-Build team who is comfortable with one another and used to working together is the best gift that you can give yourself when building a new home. Your peace of mind and the overall successful outcome of the project is well worth the time spent planning.
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